 Frequently Asked Questions on eLECTIONS
General Questions
Playing the Game Technical Issues
Do you have any comments about the game you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you. What is eLECTIONS: Your Adventure in Politics? eLECTIONS is a free, fun, election campaign simulation. It puts you in the driver's seat running a presidential campaign. This high-speed, broadband adventure uses interactive tools, video clips, rich 3-D animated graphics, fun sound effects, and self-directed interactivity. Kids and adults make all the decisions for a virtual run for the U.S. Presidency, allocating budget, selecting key issues, choosing where to campaign, and responding to the opponent’s moves and other external events. Who created the game? This playful and educational multimedia learning experience was created by the cable industry's non-profit education foundation, Cable in the Classroom, in partnership with CNN Student News, C-SPAN and HistoryTM. Who was it created for? Teenagers and adults are likely to enjoy the game most, but users of all ages can play. Kids can play with parents, students with teachers, users of all ages with a friend or with a computer-generated opponent. The one or two-player game is accessible to anyone with high-speed Internet access. What's the purpose of the game? eLECTIONS teaches you about the political process AND demonstrates how broadband technology can provide a rich educational experience for teaching and learning. It's both entertaining and educational, with an emphasis on making learning fun and lively. Are there other Cable in the Classroom sites like this? Yes. eLECTIONS is the second in a series of Cable in the Classroom online learning experiences. The first, Webby-nominated "Shakespeare: Subject to Change" was released in 2003. Windward: Outsmart the Weather in a Race Around the World was created in 2006. Created by Cable in the Classroom with project partners Discovery Education and The Weather Channel, and in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Windward showcases the many ways that broadband technology and interactive digital content enrich the teaching and learning of science concepts. Is eLECTIONS about the 2008 campaign? No, it’s a timeless 'slice of learning' about presidential campaigns. The game itself involves strategies, decisions and activities that take place in every campaign. In addition, the game is greatly enriched through featured current CNN Student News segments and C-SPAN and HistoryTM archived footage. LEARN MORE offers contemporary and historical perspective, including insights from current and past presidential candidates, 20-years worth of campaign advertisements, a look at political conventions and political parties, the electoral college, how America votes, attack politics and mudslinging (which has been going on at least since Thomas Jefferson ran for President). How do you play it? Players select a political party, define a platform, and identify key issues. A spin of the virtual wheel takes their candidates on the campaign trail and triggers events – breaking news, lucky breaks, and skeletons in the closet – that need to be managed. Contributions come in, campaign funds are spent, and events are successful to varying degrees. Every decision a player makes has a different consequence, carrying the candidate to a new spot on the road to the White House or the path to defeat. Can it be played in a large group setting, such as a classroom? Yes, you can project eLECTIONS onto a screen using a computer and a LCD projector. Select two students to be opposing candidates and divide the rest of the class, having each half play the role of the campaign staff. Have them help select key issues and make decisions on which states to visit, how much to spend, and what events to attend. You can print out a list of issues and positions to hand out to the group for discussion. For other teaching ideas visit the section for teachers. Can we put a link to eLECTIONS on our website? Yes, please do! Just insert a link to the eLECTIONS URL http://www.ciconline.org/eLECTIONS using the following code: <a href="http://www.ciconline.org/eLECTIONS" target="_blank" title="eLECTIONS: Your Adventure in Politics. Brought to you by Cable in the Classroom."><strong>eLECTIONS: <em>Your Adventure in Politics</em></strong></a>. If you'd like to include a graphic and web copy for your website, please contact Rachel Macias. What are the minimum technical requirements to run eLECTIONS? Although every home, school, and work setting is at a different place in the technology spectrum, we have developed the game for as broad a base of technology as possible. To provide a fully functional multimedia experience, eLECTIONS is designed for general use on current operating systems, using recent versions of free plug-ins. eLECTIONS requires one free browser plugin, Adobe SHOCKWAVE Player, version 10.2 or above. If you do not have it installed, eLECTIONS will detect this and prompt you to install the missing plugin. It can be downloaded at http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/. Additionally, the Shockwave application requires your permission to install the component PrintOMatic Lite MX Xtra that adds essential printing functionality to the game. You will be prompted to install once you start the game. Be advised that some of Apple's newest software does not support Shockwave. If playing eLECTIONS on an Intel-based MAC, please see Using Shockwave Player on an Intel-based Macintosh. If you have any questions, check with your IT department. At a minimum you will need:
What causes my computer to freeze when it's loading the game? Your Shockwave plug-in may need updating. Some computer systems are set to prevent automatic Windows Service Pack updates. If so, you can install Shockwave for FREE directly from Macromedia's website with the link below: After you've installed the plug-in, close all browsers, reopen a new browser window and return to the game. What if I've upgraded the plug-in and still get a Shockwave detection error? To get rid of the Shockwave playback error message, you may need to:
If you work in a school or organizational setting, check with your IT person to determine if filters are in place on your server that prohibit multimedia games. What if I'm still having technical issues eLECTIONS? The steps above should resolve any technical issues you have in gaining full access to the site. If you continue to have problems, please and let us know. It helps us to share this information with others. Comments? Do you have any comments about the game you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you. |
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